Well i have gone and lost my Passport again after only renewing it last August!!! and I have to fly tothe UK next week.

Can I fly to the UK using my Drivers licence and other ID? anyone done it as I am sure there are a few folks have got their stuff stolen/lost whilst on holiday!

I doubt it but I haven’t tried.

I’d be contacting the embassy – you did keep a photocopy?

Isn’t it the airlines that will require it and not the border staff?

I remember a group of us traveled to France by ferry via Portsmouth and one of us forget their passport but he just signed some waive and was free to travel there and back. This was about 10+ years ago though.

UK is not part of the Schengen agreement which, I think, means you’ll need a passport. That said I did travel to France and back several years ago on my nextdoor neighbours passport without problems.

I drove from Scotland to the French/Italian border without being asked to show my passport, and I suspect that was just ‘cos the Italian border bloke was a bit bored (top of the Alps). Wasn’t asked for it again all the way round Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Holland, Belgium and France. So, technically, yes you can travel UK-France with no passport. However at airports a passport is the de-facto method of identification (even when getting on UK domestic flights, for example) I’d be very surprised if you manage this OK. I did once fly from the UK to Eire without one though….

There is no way that you can fly without your passport and don’t let anyone suggest otherwise.

You may get away with it in a car but probably not. Sorry, you’re going to have to cough up for a new passport.

I came back into the UK by ferry from France without my passport. They questioned me at the border for ten mins and then let me through, they could tell I was English. These days I a’m sure they will be much stricter. I would call the embassy if you can and try and verify what they might need. You might find with a driving licence it will help immensly.

So, technically, yes you can travel UK-France with no passport

Technically you can’t. Practically you probably can. But not if you’re flying.

Once you’re in mainland Europe there’re no borders, I’m very surprised there was someone on the France/Italy border, and tbh I doubt that he could legally stop you anyhow.

Carriers (airlines) get fined large amounts for transporting peole who do not have correct entry requirements. That’s why they insist on seeing your passport, to protect themselves. No reason why they should let you on the plane without it.

Thy your local consulate or borrow somebody else’s.

How about a tub of vaseline and some speedo’s?

Problem is i wont get a replacement passport until I am in the UK.

so if you lost your passport on holiday and you need to fly back….how do you get back home? or do you have to wait until you have a passport delivered to you? which can take weeks

If you lose your passport abroad I have in the past gone to the police and reported it lost, they have given me a piece of paper to show i had a passport and it was reported missing. This paper was meant to get me through customs.

However, I lost the piece of paper as well (trip to amsterdam, I was kinda hazy on the detail) and had to spend 10 minutes chatting with customs.

There is no way that you can fly without your passport and don’t let anyone suggest otherwise.

if you fly to belfast to get an american visa, you have to leave your passport the consul – thy print the visa into the passport and post it on to you. they give you a letter in which the US government DEMANDS that you be allowed to fly, passport or no passport.
So there is at least one way you can fly without a passport.

The airlines have a responsibility to ensure the passengers they carry have the correct documentation to enter the country they are flying to. Passports visas e.t.c. If you don’t then it is the airline who has to fork out to repatriate you back where you came hence why they check them. It also acts as a useful ID check for their own processes. UKBA are the people who are actually interested in you entering the country. It is at their discretion as to how many checks they do. i.e. they take the checks performed at Calais before the ferry as enough to not man the border in Dover for instance. Airports traditionally check 100% of passengers as by the time you get to the immigration hall you have mixed with “All Sorts” of international travellers.
If you are carrying baggage in the hold then EU and DfT rules stipulate that the passenger and bag are reconciled before you get on the plane. the passport is used for this too.
The safest thing to do is contact the UK embassy in France to arrange for replacement documentation. Otherwise you are winging it!

so if you lost your passport on holiday and you need to fly back….how do you get back home? or do you have to wait until you have a passport delivered to you? which can take weeks

I think UK consular services can provide an official piece of paper or temporary passport to get you home. You’d need to report the loss to the local police first though.

I think if you have a gas bill it’s ok.;)

However, I lost the piece of paper as well (trip to amsterdam, I was kinda hazy on the detail) and had to spend 10 minutes chatting with customs.

You ran out of skins and used it for that, I bet.

I didn’t mean that there were no circumstances under which you may travel on a plane without a passport, I mean you can’t turn up at an airport in France and expect to fly to the UK and gain entry to the country without some sort of documentation of your citizenship whether that be a passport or some sort of passport substitute which explains that you are entitled to make said journey.

Blimey, what a load of pedants!

how do you get back home? or do you have to wait until you have a passport delivered to you? which can take weeks

Apply for an ETD (Emergency Travel Document) or EP (Emergency Passport) at your local Embassy/High Commission

if you fly to belfast to get an american visa, you have to leave your passport the consul – thy print the visa into the passport and post it on to you. they give you a letter in which the US government DEMANDS that you be allowed to fly, passport or no passport.
So there is at least one way you can fly without a passport.

Given that Belfast is in the UK, flying without a passport to another UK destination isn’t really a problem. As for the American government DEMANDING that you be allowed to fly, I’d be surprised if that carries any weight whatsoever, unless you are returning to the US.

One of our friends sons managed to travel to Poland on his Dads passport.

The kid is 8 and his dad has a beard.

Did rather spoil Christmas for them as his Dad was due to fly out the next day and they wouldn’t accept his sons passport for him to travel…